


Hold Back The River

by UninspiredPoet



Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Love, Useless Lesbians
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-20
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2020-03-08 09:58:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18892312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UninspiredPoet/pseuds/UninspiredPoet
Summary: The word on the street is that Lady Liadrin was dragged from the battlefield in defeat. Valeera has to confront the fact that Liadrin is as fallible as anyone else...and the fact that she loves her too much to ever let her go.((Disclaimer: My not-for-profit transformative work is only published by me on Archive of Our Own. I do not give my consent or authorization for it to be reproduced or displayed on any third-party websites or apps.))





	Hold Back The River

The blow had shaken her to her core. Had left her shuddering and gasping on the ground once she slid to a stop amidst pieces of her armor that clattered around her. Her shield arm was twisted at an odd angle. She couldn’t move it. Not even to slip it free of the leather straps that held it against the heavy piece of steel.

“Fall back!” 

The order sounded far away. Muffled. She didn’t even recognize the voice. All she could feel was the searing pain in her side. Or was it her back…

She stared up into the blinding sun as her hand fell to the side and she began to summon the Light to herself - knowing she had to. Knowing if she didn’t - this would be it. Too much was wrong. Too much felt...wrong. Even her command of the Light. It felt small and insignificant compared to the brokenness of her body. 

“Liadrin!” 

She tried to look towards her name and coughed. Just once. Just enough to clear the blood from her throat so she could breathe. Then, there were hands on her - tugging her from the ground roughly. The pain of that movement was the last thing she remembered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sometimes, the fall of someone was so significant - so earth-shattering, that even The Uncrowned took notice. Even Valeera heard the whispers that only confirmed the rumors that had been running rampant in the court of Stormwind.

The Alliance had won the day. The Horde Commander had fallen. Lady Liadrin, in all her might, had been dragged from the battlefield in pieces if the commoners were to be believed. 

She had to know, and she had to know _now_. 

Lilian wasn’t surprised to at her request to see her in the least. She was, however, surprised at the level of emotion Valeera displayed in the darkness of the alleyway they’d met in. 

“Tell me what you know, Voss. Now. I’ll pay you whatever you want.” 

Lilian glanced down at the sight of Valeera almost fumbling for a pouch of what she could only assume was gold tucked into the shock of red leather she was so fond of wearing. 

“About what, Sanguinar?” She asked a little dryly - the croak of her voice masking any feeling that may or may not have been there. 

“Don’t.” Valeera hissed as the green of her eyes blazed brightly, though they had narrowed into near-slits. “You know what this is about.” 

“Mm. Keep your gold. I have no use for it.” Lilian grated out as she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the brick exterior of the building they were next to. 

Valeera nearly growled as she stepped closer to the Forsaken woman and forced her hands to stay away from the handles of her daggers - instead, shaking them out to fight against the tingling in her fingertips. “I don’t have time for this. I don’t fucking have time for this.”

“Yes, you do.” Lilian corrected in an almost bored tone. “She’s not _dying_ , Valeera.”

Valeera froze. She froze in response to the warmth of relief that flooded her - that poured into every fiber of her being. “What is she, then?” Her tone was more measured, now. Not apologetic, no. Never that. Just even. Steady. 

“I don’t know her, personally - but I’d imagine she’s been better. She’s in Silvermoon. There has been...an influx of activity amongst the healers, there.”

“Have you seen her? Have you been there?” Valeera demanded quietly, albeit urgently. 

“Officially? No. Unofficially? The Dark Lady would be loathe to lose someone of her...status. Of her prestige. She’s in the Spire. Sunfury Spire. You remember where that is?” Valeera could have cut the smirk from Lilian’s face, then. She really could have. 

Instead, she tossed the pouch of gold at her feet and turned, only looking back when she heard the other woman vanish. She stared down at the gold still laying on the ground where she’d been and gritted her teeth, walking over to it quickly to retrieve it than disappearing as handily as Lilian had. 

It had been so long since she’d seen the Spire. So long since she’d last laid eyes on its grandeur - and the gravity of the situation weighed heavily on her as she approached it under the cover of night. She would be, at the very least, arrested for this. At worst - killed. But what was really tugging at her - what was really causing her breath to catch as she snuck past the ornately adorned guards - was the fact that Liadrin was here. The implication of just how bad it must be if she was. 

That was what continued to fuel the underlying panic that coursed through her. Every room that Liadrin wasn’t in was another blow - another piece of tinder added to the fire of fear that burned in her. 

When she finally found the room - when she finally saw a shock of auburn hair under dim magelight - she had to force herself not to gasp. To stay utterly silent. Liadrin wasn’t awake. Nor was she alone. 

Valeera pressed herself against the wall outside as her pulse raced until she forced it back under her own control. There was a Priestess in there. A Priestess...and Liadrin. Bandaged and breathing so shallowly it terrified her. She considered leaving. She considered a lot of things that might have been smart. 

But what she did...what she did, was slip past the sheer curtain without the faintest whisper of a sound. What she did, was reveal herself to the woman and lift a finger to her lips as she saw panic light her eyes. 

Fuck, this was stupid. Fuck. 

“I don’t know who you are, Priestess.” Valeera whispered as the woman stood quickly from her seat and reached for the staff nearby - causing Valeera to hold out a hand in her direction. “I...thank you. Thank you for taking care of her. But I need you to leave.” 

There was no recognition in the woman’s eyes. Only suspicion. Only concern. “Why should I do that?” She demanded in a low voice. 

“Because I could have killed you.” Valeera breathed, though she made no move at all. “Because I’m giving you the courtesy of making the choice.”

“Why are you here and what do you want with her?” The Priestess responded calmly, keeping her eyes leveled on Valeera. 

“I just needed to see her. An hour. Give me an hour with her. That’s all I ask.” Valeera hated this. She hated everything about this. But the quiet groan from across the room jarred her physically. Caused her brow to furrow and a flash of pain to cross her features. 

“It’s fine. Give us a while, Priestess...and keep this between us.” 

Valeera let the Priestess out of her sight just long enough for her eyes to dart towards what almost didn’t even sound like Liadrin’s voice. There was no power in it. No Surety. 

“Yes, My Lady.” The woman responded, walking over to the bed and looking over Liadrin carefully - touching over bandages she’d changed so many times over the course of the past two days she’d nearly lost count. 

Valeera didn’t like that. She didn’t like seeing her touch Liadrin. She didn’t like the rasp in Liadrin’s breaths or the exhaustion in her eyes when they finally landed on her. 

The minute the curtain fell shut, Valeera rushed towards the bed - looking down at Liadrin. Suddenly, she found herself unable to do anything. Unable to even speak. She’d never seen the older woman this way...and she’d never felt so utterly helpless. In fact, Valeera was almost scared to take Liadrin’s hand as it lifted towards her. She managed it, though. She also stroked her thumb over newly scarred knuckles. “Why?” She asked in a tone that bordered on a whimper. “Why can’t they just fix you?” 

Liadrin’s eyes slipped shut for a moment. Just long enough to gather her thoughts enough to form an answer. “They’re trying.” Her voice was so low even Valeera had to strain to hear it as she moved onto her knees at the bedside - lifting a trembling hand to stroke through Liadrin’s hair once she was sure it wouldn’t hurt her. “Too much. It was just...too much to heal all at once.” 

Valeera lifted Liadrin’s hand to her lips, then - kissing over it as she sniffed sharply and then cradled it against her chest. 

“Thank you for coming. Lay with me. Please.”

“I don’t wanna hurt you.” Valeera responded immediately - panic rising in her, again. The possibility of hurting her was almost as troubling as the realization that at least right now, she actually could. That thought in and of itself was almost too much for her to take. 

“I hurt, anyway. I’d rather hurt with you.” 

There was something about the unspoken plea in the ragged tone of Liadrin’s voice that Valeera couldn’t have denied even if she’d wanted to. She was so careful. She’d never been so careful in her whole life as she was right now - placing her weight so that the mattress wouldn’t even shift beneath it. Using every finely honed muscle in her body to make it to the other side of her because there was no way she was laying with her back to the door. Not with Liadrin like this. 

It took a while, but eventually, she managed it. She laid on her side and looked down between them at the place where blood had stained the linen above her hip beneath her ribcage. She looked at the ugly bruises that peeked out from beneath the sling the arm on her opposite side was in. 

“Don’t look at me like that, Valeera.” Liadrin chided softly, lifting the younger woman’s chin with her good hand and guiding it forward - guiding her closer. “I’m going to be fine.”

There was just a little of the Liadrin she knew there. Just enough for her to nod softly and lean in to brush their lips together. The softness of the kiss made her eyes burn in a way that unsettled her to no end, yet she didn’t pull back. Not until she felt Liadrin’s tongue brush against her lower lip. 

Valeera brought a hand up quickly, then, to wipe her eyes. “Don’t do that.” She murmured. “Don’t do that right now.”

The gold of Liadrin’s eyes dimmed slightly even as she smiled. It wasn’t the widest smile. It wasn’t the most enthusiastic. That didn’t matter right now, though. Not to Valeera. It was enough just to see it...even if it was just a ghost of what it normally was. “Don’t kiss the love of my life when I’m sick in bed?” Liadrin asked. “Flesh wounds aren’t contagious. Don’t worry.” 

“God, you would say that right now, wouldn’t you?” Valeera asked - a long-suffering expression mixing with all too obvious adoration and relief. “No tongue. No inappropriate touching. These aren’t fucking flesh wounds, Liadrin. You must have almost died out there.” 

Liadrin would have shrugged if she didn’t know better. “Alright. No tongue. Just get my mind off this for a while.” 

Valeera sighed her resignation and settled back down against Liadrin’s side, carefully positioning Liadrin’s pillow beneath their heads and then finding her hair with her hand once again. She kissed her shallowly while she trailed her fingertips along the older woman’s scalp - biting her lower lip gently now and then and breaking apart from her when she could hear the change in Liadrin’s breathing that told her it was too much. Yet, she always gave her just enough. Just enough that the aches in her bones were far enough removed for her to truly relax for the first time since she’d woken up here. 

“I can’t handle this.” Valeera breathed against Liadrin’s lips during one of their pauses. “I can’t handle thinking I’m going to lose you. Hearing about it on the streets and having to chase down information and sneak past guards to make sure you aren’t dead.” 

Liadrin murmured quietly in thought - not words, just soft noises as her eyes shut for a while and she just enjoyed the feeling of Valeera playing with her hair. “I’m certain there’s a solution. Some...I don’t know. I’m not very up on current magics…” She trailed off when her words began to become almost unintelligible. 

“I’m not asking you to find a solution right now. Right now, I need you to get better. I need to know you’re going to come out of this alright. After that...after that, we can figure it out. More than anything else, I just need you to be okay right now. I was so fucking scared. I’ve...never-”

Liadrin’s eyes opened, then - albeit only just. “What?” She asked quietly, once again touching lightly along the underside of Valeera’s chin. 

“Never been so scared.” She admitted to both of them at once. “Never been so scared that I’d spend the rest of my life dancing around the fact that I love you. The fact that I don’t know what I would do if you were gone.” 

“You’d live your life.” Liadrin responded simply, albeit gently. “You’d keep doing what you always do.” 

“I used to think that.” Valeera replied before kissing the corner of Liadrin’s mouth - then her cheek. “And when I told myself that, I believed it. I really did. For the longest time. Not anymore. Nothing would be okay if you weren’t here, Liadrin. Nothing would ever be okay again.” 

“Trying to give me something to live for?” Liadrin asked - and while she tried her best to make it a joke, it hadn’t come out the way she’d intended. It came out the way she felt it. It came out real and almost earnest despite the softness of her voice. 

Valeera didn’t respond at first despite the hundred possible replies that filtered frantically through her mind. “If it would keep you around, yeah. Yeah, I’d do just about anything to give you a reason to not leave.” 

Liadrin ran the backs of her fingers down the front of Valeera’s throat when she finally responded and her eyes fell. “You’ve been that reason for a long time.” She whispered. “You don’t have to do anything to be the reason when you already are.”

“Then...then please don’t…” Valeera trailed off. She knew it was ridiculous to ask Liadrin to be careful. She knew it was selfish to expect it. 

“I’m not going anywhere.” Liadrin responded despite the fact that Valeera had left the question unasked. “Nothing’s taking me from you. Not ever.”

Valeera shut her eyes tightly and Liadrin caught her face gently in her hand as she turned it away. She wiped the silent tears that fell with her fingertips until sharp breaths turned into kisses pressed into her palm. 

“Promise me.” Valeera whispered, reaching for Liadrin’s wrist to hold onto it tightly. 

“I promise.”


End file.
